Girdle



June 17 1924. 1,497,840

E. E. CLEMENT Granma Filed sept. 2e, 1919 Patented .lune l?, i924.

nnwaitnie. CLEMENT, or ocna'iv'crrv, rivlivv JERSEY.

GIRDLE.

Application tiled September 26,1919. `Serial No. 326,488.

Tol @ZZ w 710m it may concern.' n K lilo it known that I, Enwain E.CLEMENT, a citizen ot the United States, residing at Ocean Cityinthecounty of Cape May and State ot New Jersey, have invented certainnewand uset'ul Improvements in Girdles, ot which the tollowing is aspecification.

My invention relates to massage appa-` ratus, and as anincident theretoincludes a novel itorm o'l' girdle, which .is adapted to support othergarments such as stockings. For massage purposes the girdle is combinedwith a form ot electric vibrator described in my application executed ofeven date. herewith, tiled September 26, 1919, Serial No. 326,489; saidvibrator not being claimed as such herein but only in combination withthe girdle and tor the purpose herein set forth.

In my application above referred to the vibrator is shown and claimed asattached to the hand of an operator. In many cases,

however, more than a temporary application of the vibrations is requiredto produce desired results. As the nerve branches which supply theentire abdominal tract and in tact the entire body, emerge 'from themain trunk in the spinal cord, the most potent results are alwaysobtained by stimulating the socalled nerve centers7 on both sides of thespine. Long continued but gentle massage is called for, because overstimulation has certain after effects such as sympathetic or reflexaction which are detrimental to important functioneel the body. Animportant tract is that near the coccyX, just above the arch of thepelvis, where important muscles are attached and even more importantnerves emerge. Stimulation here must be particularly gentle because too.much stimulation over excites the genital system, whose healthycondition, however, Ais absolutely necessary to the lit'e functions,which in a degree depend upon the complicated interrelation between thenerves and the so called ductless glands.

According to my present invention, a girdle is constructed otlnon-elastic material such as linen woven with the warp threadsl in thedirection of strain and the cross threads at right angles thereto orsubstantially so, to avoid all distortion or stretching. In order topermit free movement of the wearers body, elastic supports or holdinglmeans are provided, these being tor a woman hose-supporters, torexample, or for a man gartersgtitting around tlieleg just under theknee. The y same z"anchorage-'gartersf as they may be designated, can beemployed for both sexes, and the mans ordiiiaryhose supporte-rs may beattached tothe anchorage garters.`

,j The girdle is worn around the hips, extending acrossnthe back just,above Athe ,pelvic arch, around the top of the hips Yand-down along thelines ot' the groiiis', the vshape ot' the girdle when extended beingalmost straight and somewhat broader in the middle than at the ends. Thevibrator :is stitched with strong linen thread to the middle ol thegirdle, on the side which is away from the body ot the wearer. A pocketbattery with rheostat for regulating the intensity of the current andhence of the vibrations,

and a flexible cord to the vibrator, complete the apparatus.

My invention is illustrated in the accom-v panying drawing, in whichFigure lis a front View of the girdle as it is worn, a portion of theback being broken away to show the vibrator cord in full lines; Figure 2is a side View of a portion of the back of the girdle and the vibrator;and Figure 3 is a front view of the Vibrator with a portion of thegirdle attached.

Referring to the drawing, G represents the girdle, V is the vibrator, Cis the cord, B the battery, r/L the rheostat, S the controlling switch,and g g', g2, g3, are hose supporters of usual construction. G is astrip or band of elastic connecting the two end members of the girdleand so placed that it lies across the abdomen of the wearer just abovethe pubic region and just beneath the ascending projection of theabdomen. The strip Gr is so proportioned and arranged in relation to thegirdle as to cause the front ends of the girdle to extend down along thelines of the groins as shown in Fig. 1 where L indicates the lines ofthe groins. band is shown stitched to the girdle, but one or morebuckles or equivalent fastening means may be employed, so that it may beopened or removed for washing or to enable the girdle to be convenientlyadjusted to or removed from the person of the wearer.

I have not deemed it necessary to illustrate the so called anchoragegarters, as they are ot ordinary type to lit` below the knee, withbuckles, the elastic bands, g, g', g2, g3, being in that case lengthenedand attached to them. Vhenr a man wears a girdle these This f Cilgarters are particularly necessary, for obvious reasons.

TheV switch VS enables the current from battery B to be cut down untilthe vibration of the vibrator V becomes almost inaudible, and thisgentle humming vibration may safely be applied to the back for anydesired time. Where lumbago or'otherV acute conditions exist, the switchmay be turned to strengthen the vibration, but suchstrong vibration ofcourse, for reasons already stated, will not be long continued.

vHaving thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. A one piece, girdle comprising a relatively broad back, hip bandsintegral therewith curving therefrom forwardly over the hips of thewearer and tapered into front straps extending from the hips obliquelydownward so as to approach each other along the V`lines of the groins,to the lower part thereof7 and thence extending vertically downwardalong the front and inner sides of the legs to points inside the knees,a relatively short elastic band connecting said front straps from grointo groin, said band eX'- tending across the lower part of the abdomen ofthe wearer just above the pubic area, and terminal attaching means -forVsaid front straps. Y l

2. The girdle as claimed in claim l with back straps secured Vto andextending vertically downward from the hip bands, and terminal attachingmeans for said back straps;

In testimony whereof l aHiX my signature.

EDWARD E. CLEMENT.

